‘Significant increase’ in police incidents of missing people with mental health issues across Rotherham

Danielle Andrews
By Danielle Andrews
Published 6th Mar 2023, 14:19 BST
Updated 6th Mar 2023, 14:19 BST
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Police have seen a ‘significant increase’ in the number of missing people cases, where mental health is a factor across Rotherham.

A report to South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, states that the number of ‘high risk’ missing people increased by 43 per cent from October 2021 to October 2022.

During 2022, 3,326 incidents involved a mental health patient – which makes up 4.8 per cent of demand on police in Rotherham.

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The report adds that the ‘majority’ of demand is locating youngsters with mental health issues, who are in local authority care.

The number of ‘high risk’ missing people increased by 43 per cent from October 2021 to October 2022.The number of ‘high risk’ missing people increased by 43 per cent from October 2021 to October 2022.
The number of ‘high risk’ missing people increased by 43 per cent from October 2021 to October 2022.

It states that Rotherham faces ‘challenges in finding a place of safety for the patient, due to unavailability of beds or an unavailability of staff in the hospitals to support the patients.

‘This has led to lengthy periods of uncertainty for the patient as they have had to wait with officers for many hours whilst the problem is resolved.’